Welcome To The Jungle (2026)

Welcome to the Jungle is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language action adventure comedy film directed by Ahmed Khan, written by Neeraj Vora, and produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, Rakesh Dang, and Vedant Vikaas Baali under Base Industries Group, Cape of Good Films and Seeta Films. The film stars an ensemble cast of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Farida Jalal, Lara Dutta, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Aftab Shivdasani, Yashpal Sharma (actor) and Akshara Singh cameo as bhojpuri actress. It is the third instalment in the Welcome film series, succeeding Welcome (2007) and Welcome Back (2015). It is loosely based on the 2005 American film The Producers as well as the 2008 American film Tropic Thunder. Principal photography took place in Mumbai and the United Arab Emirates.

Welcome to the Jungle released worldwide on 26 June 2026. The film receiving mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial success. It is the 6th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2026.

Plot

In order to create a fake ₹2,000 crore movie as part of a plan to trap an international crime cartel, a huge group of gangsters, relatives, and actors head into a jungle for filming, but the fake mission turns real when terrorists attack. The clueless crew must become unlikely heroes to save themselves and the village, leading to nonstop comedy, action, and chaos.

Cast

Production

Principal photography began in December 2023. The film was shot primarily in Mumbai, where a 10-acre jungle set was constructed and a replica of a Kashmiri town was constructed at Film City, Goregaon. Filming also took place in the United Arab Emirates, across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah, where two romantic songs were filmed. In June 2025, film got delayed due to financial crises. Later November 2025, film's shoot resume with the shooting of a song sequence. Principal photography was completed in December 2025.

Music

The title track "Welcome to the Jungle" was released on 18 May 2026. The second single "Ghis Ghis Ghis" was released on 25 May 2026. The third song "Ucha Lamba Kad Forever" was a recreated version of "Uncha Lamba Kad" from the first film, and was released on 1 June 2026. The fourth single "Deewane Hain" was released on 18 June 2026. The fifth single "Tera Paisa Mera Paisa" was released on 23 June 2026.

The song "Kaanta Laga" sung by Lata Mangeshkar and composed by R. D. Burman from the film, Samadhi (1972) and its 2002 remix by DJ Doll, featured in a sequence with Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez and Farida Jalal.

Release

Theatrical

Welcome to the Jungle was worldwide theatrical released on 26 June 2026. Paid preview night shows were held on 25 June 2026.

Certification

The film received a UA 16+ certificate on 22 June 2026 by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in a total duration of 164 minutes.

Home media

The film began streaming on JioHotstar from 21 August 2026.

Reception

Box office

On its opening day, the film earned ₹14.80 crore at the domestic box office. Paid preview screenings held a day prior to its release contributed an additional ₹3.93 crore, taking the film's opening collection to ₹18.73 crore.

Welcome to the Jungle grossed ₹186.84 crore (US$19 million) worldwide. It grossed ₹155.71 crore (US$16 million) in India and ₹31.13 crore (US$3.2 million) in overseas market.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 43% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.10/10.

A critic at Bollywood Hungama awarded Welcome to the Jungle 3.5 stars out of 5, concluding, "On the whole, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is a madcap, no-holds-barred comic entertainer that works due to its brainrot humour, grand scale, massy moments and unexpected developments. The film is not for those seeking logic or subtlety. However, its unabashed madness and crowd-pleasing moments give it a strong chance to find favour in mass centres. At the box office, it can emerge as a wholesome entertainer for viewers looking for paisa-vasool fun."

Titas Chowdhury of News18 gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 also, writing, "Basically, Welcome To The Jungle throws everything at the wall, right from meta humour, slapstick and nostalgia to action and gibberish, and somehow, enough of it sticks. There’s nothing that lies beneath the noise and it may not make sense, but then again, sense was never really the point. It works best when you surrender to its wild, logic-defying energy and simply go along for the ride."

A critic at Scroll noted, "A comedy inspired by The Producers and Tropic Thunder, which itself is ripe for parody, cheerfully acknowledges its unending appetite for nonsensical scenes." Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India juxtaposed, "Whereas Tropic Thunder sent up everything from method acting to war-movie tropes, Welcome to the Jungle spoofs its own ilk: tax-evasion projects disguised as jingoistic spectacles, opportunistic filmmakers, exes working together, spineless stars who magically grow a conscience, film industries preying on the anxieties of a nation, and the formula of box-office success. The premise is localised."

Agnivo Niyogi of The Telegraph pointed out, "Yet throughout the film, one cannot help but miss the manic brilliance that Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor brought to the earlier Welcome films. Their absence leaves a noticeable void that no amount of star power quite manages to fill.

Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times gave the film 3 stars out of 5, praising the comic timing of Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav, acting performances of the ensemble cast, chemistry of Akshay Kumar with his Hera Pheri colleagues (Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav) and dialogues by Farhad Samji, however being disappointed by the film's soundtrack and finding the climax too stretched out.

Vinamra Mathur of Firstpost gave it 3 stars out of 5 also, concluding, "But Welcome To The Jungle works more than it doesn’t due to its self-awareness. It’s a film that fully commits to its idiocy. It stops at nothing. It halts at nothing. We may not take back anything. But a smile amid the time of gloom also works if you can’t entirely guffaw."

Archika Khurana of The Times of India rated the film 3/5 stars as well, appreciating the comedy in the film remaining, 'largely clean and situational rather than relying on forced vulgarity or loud gimmicks.'

Vineeta Kumar of India Today rated the film 2.5/5 stars, writing, "Welcome to the Jungle could have been a jungle comedy about anything. Instead, it wants to do it all - being a spoof, an action film, a patriotic drama, a romance, a social commentary, a war movie and also a showcase for every celebrity with a free weekend."

Sukanya Verma of rediff.com gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5 also and wrote, "Welcome To The Jungle's crowded chaos strays wholly from its loony gangsters theme to achieve its 'big is better' beliefs. Director Ahmed Khan replaces Anees Bazmee for this sillier-by-the-second spectacle starring a swarm of stars. As a matter of fact, one hour of its 164 minutes long circus is spent introducing its unending stock of characters as part of Welcome To The Jungle's grand humorous plan."

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 2/5 stars, remarking, "Welcome to the Jungle bungs in whatever it can rustle up and get away with. While it is at it, it lampoons, among other things, the overdose of patriotic fervour that Hindi films about anti-terror secret agents peddle these days."

Aishani Biswas of Outlook gave it 2 stars out of 5 also and remarked, "Welcome to the Jungle never reaches the heights of the original Welcome, nor does it fully recapture the brilliance of the Priyadarshan-Neeraj Vora era that clearly inspired it. The writing is messy, the politics are unnecessary and much of the humour belongs to another time. Even so, buried beneath all that noise is a film that occasionally reminds you why this style of Bollywood comedy became so beloved in the first place.

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 1.5 stars of 5, elaborating on the discourse around Bollywood's brain rot phenomenon, "The trouble with going down the brain rot path is that it needs to be consistently rotting our brains at a fast pace. Remember David Dhawan, who worked at a time when there was no internet constantly telling us how to define pop culture, in his heyday? This Welcome, groaning under the presence of all the heavyweights, lumbers about, giving us time to think. Where are the zippy writers when you need them?"

Anuj Kumar of The Hindu critiqued, "The moments are engineered as a collection of 30-second conceptual hooks designed to trend on social media. Though CBFC scissors have a role to play as well, it seems the makers are more interested in creating viral Instagram reels to generate buzz than in building a substantial story. As a result, the trailer is excellent, but the theatrical experience crumbles, leaving the actors visibly stranded on screen."

References

External links

Welcome to the Jungle at IMDb

Welcome to the Jungle at Bollywood Hungama